Nothing New From Dylan, But He`s Still Rocking Hard

The truth be told, there`s not much new or even that exciting from Bob Dylan these days.

But that doesn`t mean he`s not playing great rock `n` roll.

Dylan

Dylan proved as much at Miami Arena Friday night. From the first bars of Subterranean Homesick Blues, he rocked relentlessly, if a bit hurriedly. He dashed through I`ll Remember You, got muddled in Masters of War, crashed it off with a comical Ballad of a Thin Man -- and went for broke with a searing Highway 61 Revisited.

It was vintage Dylan on display: the ragged, raspy voice, the spitting diction, the melancholy black outfit -- the disdain for the paying customers out front.

The getting-older crowd didn`t seem to mind. While some seemed lost in the rapid-fire electric set, applause burst out when the house lights dimmed and Dylan picked up an acoustic guitar and rewove quiet classics from four of his early `60s albums.

The jaunty guitar trade-offs with ponytailed sideman G.E. Smith on One Too Many Mornings were a delight, as was the Tex-Mex spicing added to To Ramona. Smith, who leads the Saturday Night Live band, bobbed across the stage all night delivering dexterous solos and taking bows. He looked gracious, but oddly out of place, like a colonial squire on stage.

The pair sought to pick out the melody lines normally filled in by harmonica with mixed results. The playing on Mr. Tambourine Man and Girl From the North Country sounded a bit labored, and perhaps was a tad too improvisational for an enormous arena.

Despite its limitations, the guitar work on the acoustic set was among the concert`s most ambitious moments.

All but two of the 15 songs in the 75-minute set have appeared on a live Dylan album or video concert. An exception was Silvio, from Dylan`s latest disc, which also is one of only two songs he performed that he recorded within the last three years.

By contrast, Dylan`s last two South Florida concerts were musical marvels -- brimming with earnest new songs, or at the very least, startling rearrangements of oldies.

There was a circus-tent mood to his December 1978 concert at the Hollywood Sportatorium. Dylan, doused with eye make-up, led a full gospel chorus and brass section -- even a rubber chicken that popped from a trap door as Dylan rambled on about ``geeks`` at midwest carnivals.

Then there was the born-again Christian gospel tour in 1981 in which he delivered a rapturous blend of rock and devotional hymns at the Sunrise Musical Theatre.

Clearly, Dylan isn`t seeking to recapture that mood. His performance these days is hot rock, and certain to draw nostalgic cheers, but there`s not much that challenges. That`s too bad, for Dylan`s never at his best unless he`s taking a few risks.

So it seems Dylan will go on content to pause and let the crowd fill in lines such as ``kicks for you`` on the anthem Like a Rolling Stone. He`ll stare from the stage -- maybe even smile -- as he watches fans sing along with every word of I Shall Be Released.